--------------------------------------------------------------------- T H E G A R Y N U M A N D I G E S T (by subscription only - to unsubscribe, see bottom of this message) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (#2001-49) - Topics This Issue: 1) Daily, weekly, monthly, yearly 2) "Complex"-ities ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2001 10:57:46 +0100 From: Dryad Subject: Daily, weekly, monthly, yearly Heck, I don't care as long as I get my digest! Ok, I lied, I *do* care. I prefer the daily digest, as my husband is on the pc almost exclusively on the weekend (ah, the perils of being an Ultima Online widow...). I like the immediate responses, and the varying lengths of the digest. As for lyrics that have meaning, at the moment two songs stand out. 'Remember I was Vapour' and 'I, Assassin' had and still have great resonance for me. I don't know if this is because I'm a depressive or what, but lyrics such as the following rocked my world: "Remember, I am human Remember, I am just like you Remember, I had reasons Remember, I had friends like you" and from 'I, Assassin' "I've never felt good I've never felt bad I've never felt much at all" Dryad, currently rockin' out to the new Daft Punk cd -- We're through bein' cool eliminate the ninnies and the twits going to bang some heads, going to beat some butts got to show those evil spuds what's what Devo ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2001 16:10:38 -0600 From: Val & Ben Iglar-Mobley Subject: "Complex"-ities Dear all, I love the current topic of what lyrics we find personally relevant. This is opening up for me a whole new dimension to appreciating each other as fans and comrades in the numanoid community. Peter, I'm sorry to hear about your friend's death. I really don't know what to say to you to help, but I'm touched that you shared the story with us. That was very courageous to open up like that. I haven't posted my own thoughts on this topic before now because I've been out of town with Valerie visiting her dying grandfather, but I've been thinking about which of Gary's lyrics have been most personally meaningful to me. I think I'd have to say "Complex." When I was a teenager, I was Elizabeth McGovern's character from 'The Breakfast Club.' Isolated and lonely, without friends, outcast from everyone around me, a loner. Not that I deliberately cultivated that image; I just wore what I wore and did my hair the way I wanted to. But unfortunately I lived in an incredibly conservative and conformistic community, and I was hated up and down for no reason (as far as I could tell) other than being myself. I don't think I've ever put this into words before now, but the emotion of "Complex" resonated with me pretty deeply then. The bitter sadness and alienation. If you'd asked me then I probably wouldn't have said that song had any more significance than any other; I think it would've been too threatening to admit to. But I used to listen to it, alone, and let out a lot of feeling I otherwise kept pretty tightly wadded up inside. Since the question is about lyrics specifically, I'd have to say the one line that really captured the way I felt then was "Please keep them away/ don't let them touch me." I had no idea why I was being singled out for all the hostility I was getting, and I tried hard to be as invisible as I could to avoid getting any more of it. I just wanted them to go away. I used to imagine that Gary must've faced the same kind of rejection to have written the songs he did, and that at least felt validating of my own experience. I wasn't entirely alone, then. In contrast, I've hardly been able to connect with the new one at all. Much as I love industrial music, I still don't find a lot of feeling in these songs. Yeah, they're aggressive and exciting, but where is their heart? I juxtapose it with my experience of Bjork's 'Homogenic.' That was another album I disliked when I first heard it. It also had stripped- down arrangements and industrial rhythms. But it's grown on me, and I have to say I love it now, likely more so than either of her first two solos. That's because Bjork has something Gary does not: an amazing voice. What her music lacks in feeling she amply makes up for with her vocal acrobatics. She's an itty-bitty person... with a gigantic voice. 'Pure' hasn't really grown on me. It's just become more familiar. But all hope is not lost! Alphaville recorded one of the best new romantic albums ever in 1984, Forever Young,' then followed it in 1986 with 'Afternoons In Utopia' and 1989's 'The Breathtaking Blue.' And then... nothing. I don't know what happened to them, but now, more than a decade later, in 2000 they released 'Salvation.' Val gave it to me for Winter Solstice, and when I first popped it in I was struck by its lush ambience. I thought this was an album I would really love, even though none of the songs really stood out for me. I figured that would come with repeated listens, so I waited. It was odd. I played the album several times, and liked it well enough, but like 'Pure' or 'Homogenic' it seemed another one that had technical merits but no great... oomph. Well, I had an interesting experience. 'Salvation' didn't grow on me... so much as it stalked and pounced. All of a sudden, on one particular listen, I LOVED it! It went from having been the same pretty good album over several listens, to a wonderful one instantaneously within a single playing. So maybe 'Pure' is still just stalking me. I played 'Salvation' on our road trip to Atlanta. Let me tell you, there's nothing like driving late at night on the open highway and listening to atmospheric music. Terre Thaemlitz' 'Replicas Rubato' made a couple of rotations. And the Cocteau Twins and Dead Can Dance tibute albums. On that last note, are Cleopatra an exclusively tribute label now or what? love, Ben http://home.earthlink.net/~iglarmobley ------------------------------ End numan@garynumanfan.nu Digest [03/28/2001 18:01] --------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------- T H E G A R Y N U M A N D I G E S T is produced, moderated, and distributed by Derek Langsford, Dave Datta, and Joey Lindstrom dlangs@sunstroke.sdsu.edu, datta@cs.uwp.edu, Joey@GaryNumanFan.NU ------------------------------------------------------------------- To reply to the messages in this list, email: numan@GaryNumanFan.NU If you want to be removed, or someone wants to be added, email: listserv@GaryNumanFan.NU and include this line as the first line of your message body: SUBSCRIBE numan@garynumanfan.nu (email address) or UNSUBSCRIBE numan@garynumanfan.nu (email address) (email address is optional but useful if you have multiple addresses) If you want to switch between receiving Digests or individual posts, again send to listserv@GaryNumanFan.NU and include either of these in your message body: NORMAL numan@garynumanfan.nu or DIGEST numan@garynumanfan.nu ------------------------------------------------------------------ Please note: this mailing list is configured to automatically unsubscribe you if mail to your mailbox goes undeliverable for any reason. 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